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King of Cisneros
The King of Cisneros was a minor character mentioned in the sixteenth Dark Parables game, Portrait of the Stained Princess. He was the father of Princess Fionnuala and indirectly caused her to be cursed into the "Princess with a Duckling" portrait. The King of Cisneros is based on the king from the Irish fairytale, Children of Lir. Appearance and Personality As depicted in portraits, the King of Cisneros was a solemn-faced older man with chin-length black hair that was slowly greying and a full beard. Most of his clothing was covered by a floor-length, white feathered cloak but an opening in the folds reveals a high-collared, turqoise shirt and a ruby pendant on a gold chain. On his head, the King wore a gold diadem with a large, diamond-shaped blue jewel in the centre. As the King is deceased during the events of Portrait of the Stained Princess, his full personality is unknown but he appears to have loved his daughter, Princess Fionnuala, deeply. However, he also seems to have had a cruel streak, as evidence by his harsh punishment of the Traitor Knight and his entire family. History The King of Cisneros (his real name unknown) was the last ruler of the kingdom known as 'the Kingdom of Light'. He had one daughter, Princess Fionnuala, by an unnamed woman whom he loved dearly. One night, a strange wagon arrived in the King's kingdom which he ignored but his daughter approached the wagon and befriended the inhabitant - a young Prince Fiachra, Prince of Estadea. The King was unaware of the friendship and eventual love between his daughter and the young Prince of Darkness, which would have tragic consequences. Many years later, an envoy sent by Prince Fiachra came to the King's court asking for Fionnuala's hand in marriage. The King was unwilling to wed his daughter to a prince of a dark kingdom, but feared rejecting the proposal would offend Estadea. So the King instructed a painter to paint a portrait of his daughter and to distort it with blotches of paint. He then gave the envoy the portrait with a message that the Princess had been disfigured in an accident and was thus unfit to marry. However, not long after the King sent the envoy away with the disfigured portrait, a blind fiddler arrived at his court also asking for the Princess' hand. As he played his volin, Princess Fionnuala appeared before him, drawn by the beautiful music, and was revealed to be completely unblemished. The fiddler, who was in fact Prince Fiachra in disguise, was outraged to discover he had been tricked; the King could only watch in horror as the Dark Prince pulled out the disfigured portrait and sealed the Princess inside it. The King's rash decision to deceive Prince Fiachra had cost his daughter her freedom, but hope remained: the curse on the painting could be broken if the Water of Life was found; however, the Water must be obtained by the one who seeks to be cured. As the Princess could come briefly back to life in her painting during moonlight, the King would require a Cisneros knight to take her place and be sealed in a portrait - thus she would be allowed time to search for the Water of Life. For this great sacrifice, the Cisneros knight was bestowed the title of 'Swan Knight'. This cruel tradition continued for many years until the eighth Swan Knight decided to burn the Princess' portrait, believing it was the only true way to break the curse. Angry for this betrayal and treason against the royal family, the King had the man executed by binding his soul to his portrait, unable to go on to the afterlife. The King also had a sorcerer curse the Traitor Knight's family so that his descendants would be cursed into a portrait if they spoke their family name. In his final harsh declaration against the Traitor Knight, he sent out a hunt to find surviving family members and all records of the man were scratched out. Eventually, the King of Cisneros passed away, his daughter still trapped in her disfigured portrait and his kingdom soon fell into ruins. Relationships * Princess Fionnuala (daughter) * Queen of Cisneros (wife, deceased) Powers and Abilities * Longevity (possibility): The lifespan between the king's old age when Fiachra cursed Fionnuala to the century old injustice done to the Swan Knights prior to Portrait of the Stained Princess is more than a normal human's lifespan. Relevant Parables The Ugly Princess (from Portrait of the Stained Princess) Once upon a time, there was a King who had a daughter. The little girl grew up to be delightfully charming. She became a graceful and attractive princess. One day, messengers came from a kingdom of darkness, asking for the Princess's hand in marriage for their Prince. This kingdom of darkness was not well-known. Legend says that it's a dominion at the end of the known world, connected to the words of dreams and death. It's a mysterious realm that cannot be found by outsiders. Who would be willing to marry off his daughter to the prince of such a place? But the King feared that if he rejected the marriage proposal, it might offend this terrible kingdom. The King thought that the Prince had only proposed to the Princess because of her beauty. So, the King came up with a plan. He asked a painter to draw a portrait of the Princess, but to deface it with blotches of paint. The King sent the messenger back with the ruined portrait with a message saying that the Princess's face was disfigured in an accident, making her ugly. However, the Prince loved the heart of the Princess more than anything. The Prince still remembered the Princess who had brought light into his dark world when he was young. He still wanted to marry her. The Prince pretended to be a blind fiddler and came before the King and the Princess, wishing to propose. When he saw the Princess, the Prince knew he has been tricked. Though the Princess did not know about the trick, she did not remember the Prince or her promise to him. The Prince took out the ruined portrait he got from the King. He cursed the Princess and sealed her in the ugly portrait for her betrayal. The Princess was trapped in the ruined portrait. For her, the passage of time stopped. She could only come to life under the light of the moon. Whatever paint stains got on her, they never faded. Just like the King had said, the Princess became disfigured and ugly. The Swan Knight (from The Knight's Name Taboo) Long ago, one knight was given the title of the "Swan Knight." It was the highest honor bestowed on the knights of the kingdom. The Swan Knight swore an oath to break the curse cast on the Princess by any means necessary. He staked his honor, his life, and even his family and descendants on this oath. The Princess was cursed and sealed in a portrait. Her time was stopped, but she was still alive. The only clue to breaking the curse was that the Princess had to find the Water of Life by herself. Under the conditions of the Princess's curse, a person could take her place and be sealed into a portrait. In exchange, the Princess was allowed to leave her portrait for a short time. Those to be sacrificed were selected from the Swan Knight's family. This inhumane tradition lasted for more than a century. One of the Swan Knight's descendants tried to change his family's fate by setting fire to the Princess's portrait. For this crime, he was named a traitor. Though he failed, his actions allowed his family to escape. They started living under an alias to avoid capture by the King's men. The King was furious. He regarded this crime as treason to the crown. The Swan Knight's betrayal brought shame to the entire kingdom. He ordered the Swan Knight's family name to be completely erased from history. The King also asked a dark sorcerer to curse the knight's entire lineage. If any of his descendants tried to reclaim the family name, that person would also be sealed into a painting. Many years passed, and the Kingdom fell. Yet the curse's power still held true. One of the scions fulfilled his ancestor's vow and freed the Princess from the curse. What the princess and the young knight did not know, was what when the Princess asked about his family name, he would be compelled to leave her. Gallery Depictions= King portrait.png|Portrait of the King of Cisneros, Portrait of the Stained Princess PSP puzzle3.png|The king lies PSP puzzle4.png|The king watch his daughter getting cursed King's head.png|Stone head of King of Cisneros, Portrait of the Stained Princess |-|Other Images= DP16 wallpaper04 1920x1080.jpg|King of Cisneros wallpaper The Ugly Princess Parable image.jpg|King of Cisneros featured in "The Ugly Princess" Parable image Category:A to Z Category:Characters Category:Minor Characters Category:Males Category:Humans Category:Unnamed People Category:Royalty Category:Kings Category:Fathers Category:Deceased Category:Portrait of the Stained Princess